Compacting mechanism

ABSTRACT

A REFUSE COMPACTING MECHANISM WHICH HAS A VARIABLE RESTRICTED THROAT IN ITS OUTLET TUBE TO APPLY SUFFICIENT RESISTANCE TO PERMIT EFFECTIVE COMPACTING.

NOV. 23,197] 95010 ETAL 3,621,775

COIPACTING MECHANISM Filed July 31, 1969 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVIiN'I ()RSDel/ems A! 60 0 13y 059A 5 EAKG? M'IW NOV. 23, 1911 DEDIO ElALCOHPAGTING MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 31, 1969 INVIiNl ()RSDa A, 060 0 Q/OH Y 5- 54x09 NOV. 23, 197] D, k DEDIQ ETAL 3,623,775

COMPAGTING MECHANISM Filed July 31, 1969 5 Sheets-Sheet INV/i/V'l ()RSbuauqs ANDDIO d Y 584K676 United States Patent 3,621,775 COMPACTINGMECHANISM Douglas A. Dedio, Torrington, and John E. Baker, Waterbury,Conn., assiguors to Waterbury Hydraulic & Pollution Sciences, Inc.,Waterbury, Conn.

Filed July 31, 1969, Ser. No. 846,542 Int. Cl. B30b 15/16 U.S. Cl.100-49 17 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A refuse compactingmechanism which has a variable restricted throat in its outlet tube toapply suflicient resistance to permit effective compacting.

The present invention is directed to an improved compacting mechanismand more particularly to an improved compacting mechanism which issimple to operate, and inexpensive to maintain.

Compacting mechanisms presently in use utilize means for depositing therefuse, such as garbage, etc., into a receiving chamber. A ram is thenactivated to move the refuse out of the receiving chamber and into acompacting area. When a predetermined amount of refuse has beencompacted, it is deposited into a garbage receptacle for removal.

Heretofore, complicated control mechanisms have been used for compactingthe garbage. Some of these mechanisms are extremely expensive andrequire skilled personnel to handle them. Others tend to jam and do notperform in an efficient manner. Still others require high hydraulicpressures for adequate operation. Still others require complicatedsignal means for controlling the operation.

The present invention comprises an improved compacting mechanism whichis simple to operate and maintain and is less expensive to manufacture.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improvedcompacting mechanism which does not require high hydraulic pressure tooperate.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improvedcompacting mechanism which has means for varying the resistance to theload.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improvedcompacting mechanism which utilizes a minimum of signal means forcontrolling the unit.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improvedmechanism in which the tendency to jam is reduced substantially.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be obvious uponan understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described,or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages notreferred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employmentof the invention in practice.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes ofillustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawings,forming a part of the specification wherein:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the present invention in position toreceive refuse;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 1 showing the refuse beingdirected into a compacting section;

FIG. 3 shows the refuse being directed into the refuse container;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the structure shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional detail of a restricted throat usable with thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view thereof;

. main ram is in its forward position.

FIG. 7 is another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view thereof;

FIG. 9 shows an adjustable throat showing the throat in its widestposition;

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 showing the throat in its narrowedposition;

FIG. 11 is a sectional end view of the mechanism shown in FIGS. 9 and10;

FIG. 12 shows another embodiment variable throat feature of the presentinvention;

FIG. 13 is an end view showing the mechanism of FIG. 12 in its widestposition;

FIG. 14 is a similar view showing the mechanism of FIG. 12 in itsrestricted position;

FIG. 15 shows another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. I16 shows an end view thereof;

FIG. 17 shows another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 18 is an end view thereof showing the throat in its widestposition;

FIG. 19 is an end view thereof showing the item in a restrictedposition;

FIG. 20 is a side view of another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 21 is an end view showing the throat in its widest position;

FIG. 22 is an end view showing the item in its operative position; and

FIG. 23 is a diagrammatic view of a hydraulic circuit for controllingthe structure of the present invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the present invention isdirected to a compacting mechanism 1 which comprises 'a hopper section 2which is connected to a chute 3 through an opening 4 at the top. Thechute 3 may extend upwardly through a building (not shown) so that whenthe occupants of the building throw refuse down the chute 3 it will bedeposited in the hopper section 2. The rear of the hopper section 2communicates with a ram section 5. The front end of the hopper section 2has a tapered transition section 6 leading into a tapered reducingsection 7 communicating with discharge tube 8. A foot or some otherappropriate mounting may also be provided to support the mechanism.

The ram section 5 is provided with a main ram 10 having a ram follower11 extending rearwardly therefrom. The main ram 10 is controlled by apair of hydraulic traverse cylinders 12. The traverse cylinders 12 aremounted at the rear end of the ram section 5 and have the forward endsof the pistons 13 mounted on the main ram 10. The main ram 10 has a plugcylinder 14 mounted thereon which moves with the main ram 10. The piston15 of the plug cylinder 14 extends through an opening 16 in the main ram10 and has the auxiliary ram 17 carried at its forward end.

The discharging tube 8 has a photoelectric sensing mechanism 20-21 tosense when a container 18 is mounted thereon. The reducing section 7 isprovided with photoelectric sensing mechanism 22-23 which senses whetherthere is any refuse in this section. The sensing mechanism 22-23 doesnot become effective until after a predetermined time after it is brokenin order to prevent small stray pieces of refuse to activate it.

With this construction when a sufiicient amount of refuse is depositedinto the hopper section 2 and the reducing section 7, as sensed byphotoelectric mechanism 22-23, the

main ram 10 is moved forward as shown in FIG. 2.

This operation-occurs only when photoelectric mechanism 20-21 is brokenby can 18. The ram follower 11 acts as a door to close off the opening 4in the chute 3 when the When the main ram 10 reaches the end of itsstroke (when the opening 4 is closed) it pushes the refuse through thetransition section 6 and reducing section 7 and into the discharge tube.At this point, the refuse is compacted and ready to be moved into wastecontainer 18. The auxiliary ram 17 is then activated and the compactedrefuse is pushed into a removably mounted waste container 18.

Since the chute 3 is closed by the ram follower 11 of the main ram 10and the main ram 10 never enters the reducing section 7 the refusearound the main ram 10 will be dragged through the space between themain ram and the transition section. Hence, there is no pile up,bridging or jamming of the refuse. This is aided by the fact that thehopper section is much larger than the ram.

In order to create enough resistance to permit proper compacting, arestricted throat mechanism 30 is provided near to forward end of thedischarge tube 8. The restricted throat mecahnism 30 is in the form of acone with the smaller portion of the taper forcing away from the hop persection.

The throat 30 as shown in FIG. 1 may be permanently fixed in positionand may have a permanently fixed diameter and angle to give a constantresistance. If desired, the throat 30 can be made variable so that theresistance may be varied, depending on the conditions of eachinstallation. The present invention provides for various mechanismswhich have been designed to provide a variable throat. These mechanismsare shown in FIGS. 5 through 22.

In FIGS. 5 and 6 the throat mechanism 30 is held in place by stationaryinner block 31. The mechanism 30 is tapered thereby reducing the size ofthe opening. When refuse is forced through this restricted opening, aresistance is created which reduces the refuse bulk to a predetermineddensity. The ring 31 is held in place by bolts 33.

In FIGS. 7 and 8 the adjustable blocks 32 are shown as tapered and aremoved inwardly by means of bolts 34 to reduce the opening in thestationary inner ring 30. This design allows the operator of the refusepacker to vary the area of the discharge tube opening for greaterreduction of refuse bulk and additional weight per refuse container.

In FIGS. 9 to 11 the upper wall 40 of the discharge tube is in the formof an adjustable plate pivotally mounted at 41. It is adapted to swingdown to reduce the discharge opening and create a resistance against thehydraulic ram. A lose or heavy pack can be controlled with this type ofthroat adjustment. Support bars 42 on each side of the discharge tube 8contains holes 43 to permit pins to be used to lock the plate inrequired position. Lock pins 44 hold adjustable plate 40 in requiredangle position. Although the adjusting plate 40 is shown in topposition, it can be located anywhere along the periphery of thedischarge tube 8.

In FIGS. 12 to 14 stationary ring halves 50 are permanently fixed todischarge tube 8. Adjustable ring sections 51 reduce the diameter of thedischarge tube thereby creating a resistance on the ram. Adjustment ofbolts 52 regulates density and weight of packed refuse by permitting themovable ring halves to move inwardly and outwardly.

In FIGS. 15 and 16 a traverse orifice 60 is mounted in tube 8. When thematerials reach the point of the traverse orifice 60 a resistance iscreated. The position of this traverse orifice 60, the angle of itstaper 61 and the diameter at the smaller end 62 contribute to theresistance. The resistance introduced by the traverse orifice 60directly determines the density of the packed materials. The orifice 60may be positioned along the tube 8 by means of bolts 63 mounted onstationary blocks 64.

In FIGS. 17 to 19 the positioning orifice 70 is stationary with onesection 71 being adjustable. The extrusion area of the orifice 70 at thesmaller end can be adjusted by pivoting section 71 around pin 73. Thisis done by advancing or retracting the adjusting screw 72 in block 74.

In FIGS. 20 and 21 the positioning of the orifice 80,

the angle of the construction and the diameter of the smaller end, allcontribute to the resistance inserted against the material to beextruded. The extruding area of the orifice can be adjusted to eitherincrease or decrease the area by moving a rotating orifice half 81 toany position from full closed to full open. The pins 82 cooperate with acollar 83 to hold the movable half 81 in position.

FIG. 23 shows a schematic of the hydraulic system which may be used inconnection with the present construction. At rest, the pump motor isstopped and solenoid FA, FB, GA and GB are de-energized. Photoelectricsystem 22-23 is on target and photoelectric system 20-21 is in target bycan 18.

When trash chute beam is broken for a period of time greater than apredetermined amount of time, pump motor 100 starts and solenoid FA isenergized. Solenoid FA directs oil flow from the pump to the head or capend of compacting ram extend cylinders 12 causing the main ram 10 tomove forward.

PS 2 is pre-set to a predetermined PSI. When compacting ram resistancebuilds up to this setting through compaction of refuse or reaching theend of the stroke, solenoid FA is de-energized, solenoid GB isenergized, and the auxiliary ram 17 extends, forcing the refuse througha venturi into the discharge chute until the preset setting of PS 3 isreached, normally when the ram 17 reaches the end of its stroke.

Solenoid GB is then de-energized and solenoid PE is energized and allrarns retract together until the setting of PS 1 is reached at the endof the return stroke. If the adapter chute photo cell beam is stillbroken by refuse PSI de-energizes solenoid PB and energizes solenoid FAto start another cycle. Cycle repeats until chute is clear.

In the description of the invention as outlined above it will be notedthat the auxiliary ram is carried on the main ram. It is of coursepossible that the two rams may be telescopically mounted one within theother and may be operated in the same manner as outlined above, withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

It will be seen that the present invention provides an improvedcompacting mechanism which is simple to operate, maintain andmanufacture. The improved mechanism does not require high hydraulicpressure to operate and which has means for varying the resistance. Ithas a minimum of signal controls and the tendency to jam is reducedconsiderably.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangementof the parts herein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to beunderstood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrativeand not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A compacting mechanism comprising a hopper section for receivingmaterial said hopper section having top side and bottom walls, adischarge tube mounted adjacent the hopper section and in substantialaxial alignment therewith, ram means in substantial axial alignment withsaid discharge tube and said hopper section means to move said ram meansaxially to compact said material and move it from the hopper sectioninto the discharge tube, means in the discharge tube for creating aresistance to said material being compacted, said resistance meanscomprising annular ring means mounted within the discharge tube andhaving an opening smaller than the opening of the discharge tube, theinner walls of said ring being tapered, said ram means being smallerthan the hopper section and the top and side walls of said hoppersection being spaced from said ram means to prevent jamming of thematerial being compacted, the hopper section being larger than saiddischarge tube in cross-section, said hopper section being connected tosaid discharge tube by an intermediate reducing section of taperedcross-section.

2. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein said resistancemeans are adjustable in order to permit the resistance to the load to beadjusted.

3. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 2 wherein said annularring means in the discharge tube comprises a plurality of blocks whereinat least one block is movable radially of the tube to restrict theopening of the tube.

4. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 2 wherein means andmechanism segments of said annular ring means are adapted to be movedradially inwardly.

'5. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 2 wherein said annularring means is movable axially of the discharging tube.

6. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 2 wherein said annularring means has a portion of which is pivotly mounted for movement in aradial direction.

7. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 2 wherein a segment of theannular ring means is movable in an are around a stationary portionthereof.

8. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein the hoppersection is substantially rectangular and the discharge tube issubstantially circular and tapered section means connects saidrectangular hopper with the circular discharge tube.

9. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 8 wherein a taperedtransition section and a tapered reducing section is interposed betweenthe hopper section and the discharge tube.

10. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein an opening atthe top of the hopper section connects it with a chute.

11. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein said ram ishoused in a ram section communicating with the hopper.

12. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein said rammechanism comprises a main ram and an auxiliary ram.

13. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 12 wherein the main ramis propelled by two cylinders mounted in the ram section.

14. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 12 wherein the auxiliaryram is propelled by a cylinder mounted on the main ram.

15. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 12 wherein the main ramhas a follower element adapted to close the opening in the chute when itis in its active position.

16. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein signal meansare provided to determine whether or not a waste receptacle is mountedon the discharging tube.

17. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein signal means isprovided to determine the presence of refuse in the tapered mountingsection.

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